For most of this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have committed to a power-play strategy that not many teams consider around the league. Toronto has gone with a five-forward power play as their first unit for a large chunk of this campaign. Lately, it’s been proven to be effective as the Maple Leafs are fifth in the league for power-play percentage. The top unit shows no signs of slowing down as the regular season winds down. Furthermore, head coach Craig Berube will be forced to keep it going throughout the playoffs.
What Toronto’s Unusual Power Play Looks Like
Typically, teams in the NHL use four forwards on a power play and one defenceman acting as the quarterback. However, Toronto has been aggressive, setting out five forwards instead. Their top unit uses Matthew Knies and John Tavares as the net-front and bumper players, who are first to arrive on puck battles. Meanwhile, Auston Matthews and William Nylander occupy the flanks and showcase their goal-scoring threat on each opportunity. Furthermore, arguably the most important part of this power play is Mitch Marner.
Marner is the last man back on the top unit and poses as the quarterback for Toronto. In previous years, defenceman Morgan Rielly was the guy to quarterback the team’s PP. The Leafs started this season like that, but Rielly has been having a rough year, especially offensively. However, that could be a blessing in disguise for Berube and power-play coach Marc Savard. This is because Marner has thrived on setting up the unit from the back end.
Marner takes control at the blue line with his great skating abilities. The playmaker can walk the line with the best of them. He can find his shooters with ease and fire the puck through the seams where Tavares and Knies can shovel the puck into the net. It gives Toronto more of a threat at the top of the zone when Marner is the quarterback.
Does It Work?
Several critics believed that when Berube first gave this a chance in games earlier in the season, it wouldn’t last. Some said it wouldn’t work in the playoffs, or would leave them vulnerable when the shorthanded team attacks. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth with this unit, at least in the second half of the season. Since March 3, the Maple Leafs have the second-best power-play percentage in the league behind the Vegas Golden Knights. Toronto’s power play is on fire.
The idea that this unit could be prone to short-handed goals against has been proven wrong in this stretch. In the 14 games the team played, they allowed just one short-handed goal. That leaves them in the middle of the pack in comparison to the rest of the league. Any power play in the NHL will allow a short-handed goal anyway, but considering the Leafs haven’t conceded many with no defenceman on the ice is a plus.
This works because Toronto’s forwards have exceptional defensive skill. Matthews and Marner specifically have made it a part of their identity to become great two-way players. As a result, the team thrives on the man advantage because of that. Both Matthews and Marner have been Selke Trophy finalists, the award that recognizes the forward who best exemplifies the defensive aspects of the game. Therefore, it’s worth the risk of putting out five forwards for a team like Toronto, given the personnel.
However, this strategy doesn’t work for all teams. According to the Daily Faceoff, the Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia Flyers are two other teams that use an all-forward top unit. Both teams are in the bottom half of the standings in power-play percentage. Despite the Wild holding on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference, their power play is 21st in the league at 20.2 percent. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s power play executes 14.7 percent of the time, the third-worst in the NHL.
Main Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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